Your growing baby’s development in week 16

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Help your growing baby develop in the sixteenth week of your pregnancy

Week 16 is around the time when your growing baby is beginning to make coordinated movements.

What’s happening this week?

Over the last few weeks, your growing baby has been practicing his or her motor skills and he or she can now make coordinated movements that can be detected in an ultrasoundi. Your growing baby can now close his or her hands into tiny little fists!

Your little one’s facial muscles are forming as wellii. He or she can squint, grimace and frown. Now, his or her head and neck are held straighter and the eyes have moved to the front of the faceiii. Your developing baby measures about four and a third to two-thirds of an inch (10.8 to 11.6 centimeters) and weighs about 2.75 ounces (80 grams) this weekiv.

What can you expect?

Due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, the body could produce more hair. While you may love the lush growth of hair on your head – which will fall out three to six months after deliveryv – you may not feel the same way about excess body hair.

Use these tips to help you feel good about your changing body and pregnancy:

Shave or wax. These are safe methods for hair removal during pregnancy.vi

Stay away from chemical hair-removal products, such as depilatory creams. The chemicals can be absorbed into your bloodstream.

What can you do to support your pregnancy?

Keep your growing baby’s cognitive and overall development healthy and on track by consuming adequate DHA (found especially in fatty fish like salmon and sardines).

Moms-to-be, soon your growing baby will be able to hear your voice, so keep singing and talking to him or her; knowing that in a few weeks, he or she will actually respond to you with excited movements!

Your growing baby is also developing the sense of taste during this period.vii

Continue to eat a healthy diet containing a variety of foods. Not only will this nourish your growing baby’s development, the food you eat during pregnancy will also influence the food that your growing baby will like for years to come.

As your pregnancy progresses, you will increasingly enjoy interacting with your developing baby. Without even noticing, you are strengthening your bond.

References:

i Fetal development: The 2nd trimester. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2017, from